Tennessee Vols coach talks about key group that is ahead of schedule as spring football nears a conclusion
With spring football about three weeks in and with the Orange and White game less than a week away, it's a fair time to evaluate the progress of the various positional groups on the Tennessee Volunteers' roster. One coach saved everyone the time during his press conference on Saturday. According to tight ends coach Alec […]
With spring football about three weeks in and with the Orange and White game less than a week away, it's a fair time to evaluate the progress of the various positional groups on the Tennessee Volunteers' roster.
One coach saved everyone the time during his press conference on Saturday. According to tight ends coach Alec Abeln, the tight end room has surpassed his expectations, particularly with his two new transfers.
"I don't want to crown them too early, but they're doing a really good job," Abeln said. "McCallan (Castles) was probably on the curve that most guys are on where it's a spring of trying to learn how to operate. There's a lot going on, and it's happening very fast.
"Without getting their egos too inflated, the two new guys (Holden Staes and Miles Kitselman) have come in and are really ahead of schedule in terms of where I thought they would be in the ability to line up, process, and play. We probably put more on their plates because of their ability to learn so fast."
Staes should be the leader of the bunch in the passing game. The 6'4", 242-pound junior from Atlanta caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns last season for Notre Dame. He appears to be the most likely to step up as the team's top receiving option at the position.
"I would say I'm progressing well. Each day I've tried to improve on something, whether that's lining up faster, processing the signals faster or knowing my read immediately when the ball gets snapped quickly. Coming from Notre Dame, we would huddle and have time to diagnose the defense before the ball gets snapped. Here, we get the signal, and the play is happening immediately. Overall, I think I've been progressing well. Through the end of spring ball, I just want to keep my head down, get better day in and day out and not look too far ahead. Using these last few practices, I just want to finish the right way and go into the summer. Overall, I'm feeling comfortable." – Holden Staes
Kitselman is an interesting option. He only totaled two catches in two years at Alabama, from where he transferred in January. However, former Tennessee assistant coach Kody Cook sold Abeln on his abilities.
"I have to give credit to Kody Cook," Abeln said. "He was a guy who was with us last year, and he coached Miles at Hutchinson Community College. He was telling me that on tape this is kind of what we could see, and there wasn't a lot of evidence of the other piece of that equation. He stood on the table and said that he coached the guy for two years and knew what he could do. Kody is an elite receivers coach. With that skill set, you can tell he's been coached by Kody, because there's a lot of stuff that's showing up on the tape that's really good."
Tennessee also has Ethan Davis, Emmanuel Okoye, Titus Rohrer, Luke Shouse, and Charlie Browder on the roster. Cole Harrison will also join the team in the summer. Davis and Okoye both redshirted last year, but both have intriguing upside, particularly Davis, who could become an interesting option if he can prove himself as a blocker the rest of this offseason.
Regardless, it appears the arrow is pointing up for this group. We'll see who stands out on Neyland Stadium on Saturday when the Vols host their annual Orange and White game.
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